Sarah Paroya Mr. Distel English 10 Honors 10/26/14 Poem Explication, I heard a Fly buzz - when I died The poem “I heard a Fly Buzz - when I died” by Emily Dickinson, is about the death of a person, who tells the last moments of their life. The poem’s theme is mortality and views it in different angles. The poem is written in iambic meter, and uses near rhyme in an ABCB pattern. There is a unique design of the poem’s lines, regarding the dashes in the middle of and at the end of the majority of the lines. In “I heard a Fly buzz - when i died,” Dickinson’s theme throughout the poem is mortality and the physical aspect of death. Dickinson uses various literary and poetic devices to develop the theme, such as tone, onomatopoeia, and similes. …show more content…
“I heard a Fly buzz - when I died -” (1) the speaker has stated that they are dead, and from here on they recall the events that led to the death. The speaker is on their deathbed and hears a “buzz” (1) of a fly. A fly signifies death, and relates to hearing the sound of death before the speaker dies. The speaker hears a “buzz,” the word “buzz” is used as an onomatopoeia. By recalling the moment of the speaker’s death, it is inferred that they have passed away. The speaker then goes from the fly to the scene of their death. The speaker creates a thick and quiet atmosphere in the room. “The Stillness...the Heaves of of Storm-” (2-4), a simile is used to compare the stillness in the room to the stillness during a lull of a storm. The speaker emphasizes the tone with the simile. Also comparing the stillness in the room to a lull during the storm, storms are filled with energy. So it shows that something sizable is going to happen. The first stanza is setting the poem up, and states the setting and the